In many medical and dental procedures, it is required to mix components of a medical preparation just prior to application or delivery of the preparation. These preparations can include fluent components and solid components, such as a powder. Typically, these components react in some manner or cannot maintain consistency such that the components must be stored separately prior to mixing and delivery. Such separate storage also maintains sterilization. Further, it is often the case during a treatment procedure that the components are required to be mixed rapidly for effective delivery of the application.
Various mixing containers such as syringes and related apparatus are known for mixing two components for a medical preparation. These syringes separately store the components and rely on shaking or vibrating for mixing. Other syringes employ external mixing devices, such as a syringe for separately storing two components, which are separately dispensed into an external mixing nozzle. These type mixing containers can suffer from drawbacks such as difficulty of use and unreliable mixing during a medical procedure.
Various attempts have been made to overcome the disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. For example, a two component mixing device is known that has a plunger type mixing rod with a reduced diameter section that facilitates mixing. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,018,089. These devices may not facilitate mixing of two or more components or provide a desired agitation for mixing the components.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a multiple component mixing and delivering system, for storage, mixing, and delivery of multiple components for a medical treatment and related methods of use. Desirably, the multiple component cartridge includes plungers with relatively movable members configured to facilitate mixing and delivery of a multiple component mixture. It would be highly desirable if the multiple component cartridge provides a single device for mixing two or more, preferably three, separately stored components that can be delivered during a medical procedure. It is envisioned that the elements of the multiple component mixing and delivery system can be easily and efficiently manufactured and assembled.